The head of Epsom College, Emma Pattison, was about to separate from her husband when he allegedly shot and killed her in what appears to have been a murder-suicide, according to her sister.
Following the February murders of her sister and niece, aged seven, Deborah Kirk wrote in a series of letters and passages that she had felt Emma had been a victim of coercive control and that her relationship with George had been abusive.
She went on to say that she had visited her sister the week prior to the tragedy and was certain that she had decided to leave him and would be a “success story” or “survivor” once things turned out differently.
In the letters, published in The Sunday Times magazine, she wrote: “I am trying to figure out what the lesson is here. It does not, for us, lie in ensuring they decide to leave – because she had, courageously, got that far.”
She added: “I looked forward to having my sister back. I looked forward to her having a loving relationship and looking back at this with amazement that she endured it for so long.”
George, the 45-year-old husband of Mrs Pattison, was a registered shotgun owner who is subsequently accused of killing not only her but also her seven-year-old daughter, Lettie, before allegedly killing himself. Mrs Pattison had only just been appointed head of Epsom College, one of the top private schools in the nation.
Mrs Pattison had called her sister in a distraught state the night before she passed away, reporting an argument between herself and her husband.
Solicitor Mrs Kirk hurriedly departed from her residence in southeast London for Epsom in her husband’s car, but by the time they got there, it was too late; the bodies of the three were discovered at a residence on the school grounds.
The coroner is waiting for new information from Surrey Police, which has caused the inquests into the fatalities to be postponed from their October original date.
Born in Jamaica to parents of English and Southeast Asian descent, Mr Pattison is a chartered accountant and a big fan of fast automobiles. He is 39 years old.
They tied the knot in 2011, and four years later, Lettie was born. Although their neighbours spoke highly of the family, Mrs. Kirk revealed that her sister had fallen prey to abusive control.
She wrote: “I did see the relationship as abusive. I did and I told her so. I think though, the sound of any voice of a caring loved one saying the same thing over and over again is something one becomes deaf to.”
Mrs Kirk revealed that following the tragedy, she worried her sister had been murdered due to her announcement of leaving her husband.
She also wrote: “I am still learning about this dreadful and complicated misery to which too many people, primarily women, are being subjected, but let’s be clear on the basics. Since 2015 coercive control is a crime in this country.”
In a piece written the day after receiving a “harrowing update” from the police about the investigation, Mrs Kirk said: “We thought we knew it all but we did not. We heard the story of our dearest girls and what they had suffered not just that evening but prior to it and it has introduced me to a new level of suffering.”
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